Clothes shopping isn't normally on Mike Richardson's to-do list during
a race weekend. He might make an exception this Thursday through Sunday
in Vancouver. While taking in the Calgary Stampede earlier this month,
the Kelowna resident added some items to his wardrobe, including a new
t-shirt with an eight stencilled on the back. One week later, in Toronto,
Richardson finished eighth in the Barber Dodge Pro Series' seventh stop
of the season. "And the weird thing is," said Richardson,
"I didn't know there was a number on the back until I was done
shopping. I guess it was destiny. When I'm down (in Vancouver), I think
I'll look for a four or a five. "Or maybe a one, two or three."
Two steps below CART, Barber Dodge is a ladder series to help aspiring
and talented racers reach the higher leagues, such as CART and its feeder
division, Toyota Atlantic. Notably, Barber Dodge's 2002 points champion,
A.J. Allmendinger of California, is the points leader in Toyota Atlantic.
This weekend in Vancouver, as during Toronto's Molson Indy, Barber Dodge
will once again be display. In fact, with Toyota Atlantic taking this
weekend off, Barber Dodge will whet appetites Sunday morning by being
the appetizer before CART's main course.

"I'm looking forward to Vancouver, but with it being a Canadian
stop, there's also going to be a lot of pressure to do well," said
the 35-year-old Richardson, who reserved 18 seats for family and friends
from B.C. and Alberta. "I know I'll have good support there, which
is good. It seems all the Canadian dates have great fans who come out
and support the sport. "With no Toyota Atlantic, it means we get
extra track time, and you can never get enough seat time to learn a
track's layout. I can't wait for the extra practice sessions."
There's a reason why he's so anxious to hop in his blue and silver Prestige
Inns Dodge. In Toronto two weekends ago, the series sophomore trekked
into Ontario with plenty of confidence, despite missing the past three
races because of his busy engineering business. In his first practice
lap on wet conditions, his certainty was crushed as he tagged the wall.
In trying wear off a smooth coating off new rain tires by spinning them,
Richardson lost control after applying too much gas around one corner.
"That was such a stupid mistake," said Richardson, who qualified
15th out of 16. "I just scuffed the wall, but it was enough to
put me out for the session . . . it almost put a damper on my whole
weekend as I didn't want to push the car anymore. Everything worked
out in the end, by finishing eighth, but I had to play catch-up during
qualifying. "I certainly won't be making the same mistake in Vancouver."
The series has several other Canadian drivers, including Josh Beaulieu
of Langley and Ward Imrie of Winnipeg, who finished sixth in Toronto.